Designing for Social Justice

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Course Participants

Andrew Applegate: Hey everyone! My name is Andrew Applegate, and I am a graduating English major finishing my last quarter here at UCSB. I am an avid video gamer, and have sank many, many hours into studying that field through my Xbox and/or PC. I see video games as an extension of the novel, in that the story-line, for me, is the most important aspect of any good game. Finally, for anyone curious, I chose to use FemShep from the Mass Effect series as my picture because I have logged more hours playing as her than any other video game character. She has been a close companion of mine since I graduated high school.

Interests: One of the major social issues that interests me is that of illegal immigration into the United States. This issue brings up questions about the nature of humanity vs institutions, and can reveal what we value most. In the same vein, I’m interested in issues of gun control and racism in general.

Skills: I play video games in the same way I read novels, so I am experienced in analyzing them in the ways we’ve been discussing them in class. I’ve dabbled in modding before, and I am more than able to work on the creative/story elements of a game mod.

Alyx Barker: I’m a third year English major/Spanish minor, trying to graduate at the end of the quarter. I’m not nearly the kind of gamer as a lot of the class seems to be; I’ve mostly just stuck to N64 and Game Boy games my entire life, with the exception of playing Halo for the first time a couple of months ago. After graduation I want to stay and work in Santa Barbara for a while before hopefully moving to LA. Right now I work part time for a kids soccer camp downtown on the weekends, but ideally I want to eventually find something in publishing/editing if I can.

Taylor Barnes

Hi, I’m Taylor. I’m a 4th year psychology major from LA, and I’ll be graduating after this quarter. I really enjoyed playing video games when I was younger, however I now lack the necessary time and funds to play newer games. My favorite games are ones I can play with my friends like mario kart and super smash bros, but I also really enjoyed the legend of zelda series especially ocarina of time. Aside from video games, I love producing electronic music and dj-ing, and I am the head promoter for thursday nights at a club downtown called Indochine. If you ever find yourself downtown on a thursday cruise through, first drink is on me.

Interests: Social justice issues which interest me are economic/class disparities between the rich and poor, racial stereotyping, and environmental issues.

Skills: I produce music in Ableton Live, and I can make sound effects and a soundtrack for my group’s game. I’m not too familiar with game maker, but I’m sure I could learn to use it if need be.

Lauren Bermudez is a third year English major, minoring in Linguistics with a TESOL emphasis. She is a full-time student, part-time Arts & Lectures employee, and over-time fangirl. Lauren spends an unhealthy amount of time blogging on Tumblr, writing questionable fiction, and crying over Asian celebrities. She probably orders enough Domino’s Cheesy Bread for the entirety of Isla Vista, and has the strange tendency to quote large sections of Shakespeare while intoxicated. Lauren is proud to be of mixed race, and hails from the illustrious Orange County where she grew up with her mother, father, and extremely bratty cat.

Interests: As the daughter of a businessman, Lauren is particularly interested in business ethics, private vs. public sector, and international relations.
Skill: Lauren has been a doodler since a young age, and has experience with both traditional and digital media. She is an avid writer and loves to brainstorm plot and characters. Lauren also has basic photo editing experience, and works well with groups.

Eric Brubaker

My name is Eric Brubaker and I’m a fourth year majoring in Global Studies and have mixed emotions (but mostly terrified) about graduating and leaving the beautiful Santa Barbara area. After graduating I hope to never sit behind a desk and live life as an adventure. Life is a learning experience, everyday is an opportunity to learn something new. Take today for an example: I learned how hard it is to write a Bio about myself.

Interests: The social issues that interest me are largely economic and political. The issue of wealth disparity might be interesting to adapt to a game as well as the issue of Church vs. State.

Skills: I’m a global studies major and I’ve examined and studied many of the social issues that we’ve talked about in class. When making a game that has an agenda of solving a social issue, it is important to be able to address and attack the issue at it’s root.

Melissa Cuddy: I’m a fourth year Psychology major and I don’t want to graduate…yet. I’m from LA and have grown accustomed to the clean air and beach things that Santa Barbara has to offer. I’m a really big fan of cats, goat cheese, Adventure Time and recycling. After college I plan to travel around for as long as humanely possible before entering into the “adult world” and therefore answering everyone’s favorite question, “SO.. what are you plans for after college?” I currently work part time at the food dungeon known as the UCEN..( you will probably see me pushing around a cart in a blue shirt at some point) and did I mention I love cats? (Also somebody fixed my picture for me :D)

My name is Daniel Dunietz. I am a third year at UCSB majoring in English. Considering my lack of real world accomplishments, I’ll be the first to admit that I haven’t done enough with my short existence to merit a biography, but here are some basic facts: There are more activities in the world that I enjoy than there are that I dislike. Some of the things that give me pleasure include people, food, and a good time. I’m from Chicago. I value human relationships. I try not to offend people and I have a love hate relationship with video games.

I am incredibly interested in the complexity of the human condition. The social justice issue that has been on my mind as a result of this class is humanity’s ever growing addiction to technology. I am also deeply disturbed by the ongoing government run war on drugs and the crippling effects that prohibition legislation have on segments of society. I consider the war on drugs a perpetuation of institutionalized racism and inequality and the industrial prison complex an affront to human rights.

From what people tell me, I’m a skilled writer and I have good ideas.

Adam Dziesinski is a 3rd year Film and Media Studies major with a minor in English. Outside of watching and writing about films and playing video games, the most constant thing in his life is listening to music. Recently he has been listening to music on vinyl. This began when he found his dad’s old turntable and records. He buys new records downtown and it is the main way he listens to music now. Adam currently interns at the awesome Pollock Theater by the bus loop and hopes everyone sees a movie there before they graduate! Some of his favorite directors are Wes Anderson, Woody Allen, and the Coen brothers.

Interests:The social issue that most interest me is the unequal distribution of wealth. It would also be interesting to take on environmental issues like our dependence on oil.

Skills: I know how to make videos/machinima. I also know the basics of model building in Second Life and have a pretty good grasp about how the game works.

Michael Dzwoniarek

I am a fourth year Sociology major. I am in ROTC here at UCSB, and when I graduate I will be commissioned as an Infantry officer in the US Army. I am very interested in media analysis, and am very excited to be able to explore and deconstruct videogames. In my free time, I can often be found in front of my computer or TV ridding the galaxy of reapers, sprinting around Liberty City, or saving Princess Zelda from Ganondorf one more time.

Kathryn Frazer

I am a fourth year double major in Sociology and Religious Studies, so I am interested in cultures and lifestyles I am not a part of- which is why this class is going to be really interesting for me since I’m not a gamer at all. I am hoping to travel to Thailand/Nepal/Vietnam/Anywhere after I graduate this spring. I am interested in social justice and hope to be interning at a progressive news radio station next year where I would interview community members about local issues. I also like cooking (eating), running, reading, live music, and being entertained by my pet bunny.

Interests: Issues that interest me include education, the environment, and feminist/LGBTQ issues.

Skills: I am a competent researcher, writer, and am pretty creative/artistic. I am also very responsible and good at getting the job done 🙂

Andrew Fuh

Hey everyone, I’m a fourth year Art History major with an emphasis in Architecture and Environment. I was raised in a tech family, so I’ve been around computers my entire life and thus an avid gamer. I’m interested in exploring simulation elements and immersive environments in video games (Oculus Rift?), and recently I’ve enjoyed pushing the boundaries of open-world gaming environments like Red Dead Redemption and the Grand Theft Auto series. Besides video games, I also enjoy sports like basketball and motor racing, watching films/TV, and more eccentric things like attempting a work of constrained writing on a final exam.

Nicholas Halsey (nicholashalsey@gmail.com) is a fourth year Literature major who is amazed to read Judith Kang’s bio and learn that Hydrology is a major offered at UCSB. He works as a nude model at the art department and freelances as an editor. After graduating this quarter he plans on moving to San Francisco with his fiance and writing video games, and so this class is a great opportunity. His favorite part of video games is multiplayer balance, or how video games give different abilities/classes to choose from but still makes sure they are all fair when compared to each other.

Skills: I can code in C, Javascript, and HTML. I have written screenplays, video game scripts, and regular prose of all lengths. I was an Improv manager for four years and have experience public speaking. I have been an editor on multiple publications including newsletters and novels.

Interests: I do not normally focus on social issues in my writing; I am much more interested in individual issues. My favorite concepts to explore are loyalty and madness.

Brandon Hargrove is my name, and I’m a fourth year English Major here at UCSB. The first video games I played were on the Sega Genesis, and then the SNES. After that I moved to the N64 with lots of Zelda and Goldeneye. Then came the PS2 and the Xbox with lots of Halo 1 and 2. Now I am primarily on the Xbox 360 playing Halo 4, Black Ops II: Zombies, and Minecraft. Although I do sometimes hop onto my laptop to play some LoL, I’m primarily an Xbox 360 FPS player. I am also a huge Rooster Teeth fan.

Interests: Creating an educated public because there are too many uninformed voters out there.

Skills: I have all of the skills one would expect from an English Major, as well as a vast knowledge of video games.

Joshua Hy I’m second year that intends to pursue the Microbiology major. It’s somewhat strange; I’m pretty far outside the comfort zone of the usual science major. My relationship with words is a complicated one, not quite something I’ve come to terms with. What happened? In the words of Summer Finn, “What always happens. Life.”�?Life seems to have brought me a rather eclectic and collection of passions. I admit I have a seemingly paradoxical taste in film, music, and literature. I particularly enjoy the works of Pablo Neruda. In terms of who I am, I feel that a reluctant grounded idealist would be the most appropriate characterization.

Interests: One of the issues that particularly captures my interest is bioethics, essentially the complicated relationships and implications that arise due advances due to advances in biotechnology. E.g., human enhancement etc.

Skills: I am moderately adaptable, so I could pick up a basic grasp of new skills if crunch time requires it. I admit my creativity is somewhat lacking, but making up for that is a rather pragmatic thought process.

Judith Kang judithjkang@umail.ucsb.edu

To begin with, I am a fourth year doubling in Hydrology and English. Hopefully for my somewhat immediate future, since I haven’t applied yet, I want to join the Peace Corps and help out with the water situation in South America or Africa. English has always been a love of mine and was further instilled in me by my junior year high school English teacher. I am always excited to explore new mediums in conveying messages and its efficiency to appeal to a wide audience. With this knowledge, I will be able to communicate key ideas to people despite being unable to communicate with them in their native tongue.

Interests: I think racism would the easiest to convey, but I think environmentalism and water politics are very interesting. Gender identity would be really cool to dive into. This is my first time working with this media form so am I excited to experiment with it.

Skills: I used to do a bit a graphic design so I know how to use PhotoShop and Illustrator pretty well so I could focus more on the visual elements such as sprites, backgrounds, and layout design, and more. I would love to experiment using Flash so I’m down to learn new skills.

Jessica Kim
I am: Jessica Kim, a female, an October baby, a reader of contemporary literature, a procrastinating writer, a collective listener of music, a movie marathoner, a doodler, a passenger-side singer, a Korean-American, a third year UCSB English major, a graduate of Loara High School, a sheep, a Scorpio, a pessimist, a non-Facebook user, an introvert, a nail art admirer, a shoe consumer, a cat lover, a PC, a planner, a list maker, a romantic, agnostic, empathetic, gullible, indulgent, clumsy, and occasionally, a run-on sentence. I would like to be a copy editor, an intellectual, a published writer, a provider, self-reliant, confident, and jovial.

Skills: I write stories and sketch people. My Photoshop skills are passable and I have some experience with Python.

Katie Marino is a fourth-year chemistry student, currently enjoying her final quarter here at UCSB. When not studying, she spends much of her free time fencing, reading (mostly fantasy and science fiction novels), and of course, playing video games. In addition to English, Katie speaks some German and Japanese, and would love to travel to other countries in the future. Katie’s favorite animal is the red panda, her favorite Pokemon is Wartortle, and her favorite type of tea is Earl Grey, hot. Her favorite video games include The Legend of Zelda series, Pokemon, Halo, Chrono Trigger, Bastion, and Portal.

Interests: Katie is most interested in issues such as separation of church and state, gay rights and gay marriage, and gun control laws.

Skills: Having grown up using them, Katie boasts a fair amount of proficiency with computers and the oftentimes frustrating software they run. In addition, she has a passion for video gaming that makes her eager to explore the possible uses of this medium to convey a message.

Frisco Miranda:

My name is Frisco Miranda. I am a Christian, and I love Jesus Christ. I’m a senior. I have a large family. I’ve been playing video games most of my life. I used to play much more, but now I play a couple hours a week and read a lot online about what’s going on in the game industry. I got to go to the Tokyo Gaming Show this past fall while I was in Japan and it was sick. I play guitar and banjo. I like reading. I love dancing. I’ve lived in New York, Washington, and California. I did a study abroad in Japan (as noted above). And God-willing I’ll be staying in California upon graduation.

Interests: Wealth Inequality, Racism, Abortion

Skills: I’ve played a wide variety of games, and I think I have a pretty good understanding of game design for this project. Also I am good at writing and I could handle telling a story through the environment as we learned about in class.

Lauren Moissiy

I am fourth year Biology major in the College of Creative Studies at UCSB. I enjoy my involvement in my college campus community as a Associated Students College of Creative Studies Collegiate Senator, President of Corcovado Research Conservation Alliance, and member of Academic Affairs Board. I try to make time every day to be outside in the sunshine or go to the beach to re-balance. Running is one of my favorite activities as I like the mental and physical challenge of pushing our supposed ‘limits’. My favorite video game right now is Halo.

Interests: I find access to healthcare, distribution of wealth, sexism, gun control, ethical dilemmas in general, and church versus state to be extremely interesting social justice issues.

Skills: Serving as a Collegiate Senator in AS has opened my eyes to a plethora of social justice issues, resolutions, and diverse opinions on the subjects. I enjoy writing, am very detail oriented, and have creative artistic ability for narration and drawing.

Katie Morris: I am a fourth year English major/ Black Studies minor who loves to analyze every book, movie, TV show, and song that I encounter within the context of race, gender and sexuality, meaning I probably bug the crap out of the people who stick around me a lot. I am excited to take a class on video games because they say so much about our culture and society and I can’t wait to take an intersectional approach to my study of them. I hope to someday take what I learn and apply it to my fictional writing, but for now I am riding out my last quarter in denial that this is the last ten weeks I’ll spend at UCSB.

Interests: I am primarily interested in racial politics and the intersectionality of race with gender/sexuality/class

Skills: I have limited technological skills but I consider myself a good writer; I am familiar with narrative structure and plot and can bring creativity to the table.

Robert Ottolia: Hi everybody I’m Robert and I’m a 4th-year Biology major hailing from Corona, CA. I have been playing video games since middle school and have probably logged more hours playing Halo 2 online than is healthy. My favorite game of recent times is probably Red Dead Redemption, and I’m excited to see how this class can help me analyze and look at video games in a different light. Other than that, I love working out, hiking, playing soccer, cooking, and DJing a little on the side. After I graduate I plan on traveling the world a little and taking a little break before deciding what the next step is.

Interests: The two major social issues I am currently interested in are the battle for same-sex marriage legislation across the U.S. and the growing disparity between the very rich and poor. Another social issue I am also interested in is gun control. I feel that all three of these issues are very much important issues not only to us as U.S. citizens but also to citizens in countries that are in similar situations. I feel that all three would be interesting and rewarding to implement in a game.

Skills: I feel that my biggest skills are music and writing. Of course, I have been playing video games for years so I am also aware of gameplay and level structure as well.

Huy Pham

I’m a fourth year Communication major and English minor. I currently work for the UCSB Men’s Basketball Team and hope to utilize my pun-making abilities and pursue a career in sports marketing after I graduate. Basketball is my favorite sport due to the way they dribble up and down the court. I enjoy watching the Lakers play, spitting sick rhymes, over-analyzing conversations, video games, and movies starring Ryan Gosling. I hope to learn enough valuable skills in this class to fulfill my dream of a creating an ultra-realistic dating simulation game.

Interests: Issues dealing with equality between people, especially racism, racial profiling, racial stereotyping, and discrimination issues. I take interest in what causes people to treat others differently.

Skills: I enjoy creative writing such as short stories and poetry and I especially enjoy writing dialogue. Being a communication major has also taught me how to get points across. I’m also familiar with video game mechanics due to playing them for many years.

Danielle PoitrasHello, my name is Danielle. I am a third year English major hoping to specialize in Lit and the mind. Some of my academic interests include literature studies, psychology, and philosophy. When I am not studying, I enjoy spending time with my family and friends. I also love listening to music. I am always interested in finding new music to listen to although; I think I tend to overanalyze each song lyric as an English major. I have played games throughout my whole life but have not gotten far past Pacman and Tetris. I have found these games to be so addicting. As a child, I loved playing Super Smash Bros with my brother and my favorite character to play was Kirby. I have very little experience in creating video games but I am excited to learn!

Interests: I am interested in social issues of inequality regarding sexism and racism. Environmentalism interests me as well.

Skills: I have a lot of writing experience as an English major. I could work on any narrative or dialogue needed for the game. I am also familiar with photoshop and basic video editing.

Tommy Pompo

Hey everyone my name is Tommy and i’m a 3rd year political science major and italian minor. I’m from San Diego and i’ve been playing video games my whole life. I don’t play nearly as many now as i did before college, but some of my favorite games are The Legend of Zelda series, the Fire Emblem series, Ogre Battle 64, The Half Life series, and Counter Strike. I am very excited about this class since it is such a change in pace from the normal UCSB class. I’m excited to use my creativity for the final project and make something that is not only fun but can have a serious message.

John Ruiz

Hey guys, I’m a transfer student (junior) from Los Angeles at UCSB majoring in English with a specialization in Literature and Culture of Information. I’m a huge film buff and I was a big gamer a few years ago but I sold my Xbox to focus a bit more on school, however, I’ve recently purchased a new Xbox and am slowly getting back into the habit by spending hours playing FIFA. I started reading video games critically last quarter in Amanda’s class and ended up doing my final project on Valve’s Portal and Portal 2 in relation to anxieties of rape and gender roles. So I’m very excited to create my own game study the art of creating play and rhetoric through play.

Interests: My interest around social justice issues is the media representation of Race, Sex, and Class. Specifically: the racist, sexist, and socio-economic representations in media and their effect on society.

Skills: I’m a gamer coming out of retirement and eager to explore video games in depth. I write short stories and I’ve got a bit of experience with Photoshop and photo editing.

Justin Shelton

Justin Shelton is an avid gamer and is interested in the ability to tell stories through the medium of video games. Currently a fourth year student at UCSB, Justin will be graduating with a B.S. in chemistry this quarter. Some of his other interests include Japanese culture and history, fencing, and role playing games. Justin’s favorite games include the Halo series, Bastion, Sequence, Bioshock, and Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes, and he is eagerly awaiting the release of Bungie studio’s newest game Destiny.

Skills: Organizational and planning for game narratives and formats. I’ve played a lot of pen and paper RPG games, and I think this translate perfectly into planning an interactive narrative and working game interactions.

Dylan Thomas Dyltho@gmail.com

Hey guys I’m Dylan and I’m a senior majoring in Film/Media Studies. I was born and raised in Los Angeles and have been here for about a year now. I’ve been a big gamer my whole life but pretty much only play the big console games as I don’t own a PC. I’m mainly into FPS’s and RPG’s and enjoy the MGS, Uncharted, Mass Effect, Arkham, and Halo series as well as anything from Bethesda or Rockstar. I love movies and TV, specifically my favorite shows right now are Breaking Bad, GoT, Mad Men, Always Sunny, Adventure Time, and many others. I look forward to working with you guys, thanks.

Interests: Environmental Issues, Distribution of Wealth

Skills: Although I do not have any experience with coding or modding, I’m an experienced gamer and a hard worker when it comes to group projects. I’m a good organizer and a good writer, not in the technical sense but in crafting stories/narratives.

Bekka Thompson is a fourth year biopsychology major trying to make the most of her final quarter at UCSB. She’s played video games her whole life, including six years of World of Warcraft. With the free time gained from quitting WoW her new goal has been to vanquish the massive backlog in her Steam library. Her favorite character archetype overall is the rogue and her favorite game studio is Blizzard, having played every game they’ve released since Warcraft 1. In addition to video games she enjoys drawing, British television, cyberpunk literature, and worldbuilding. She has played the alto saxophone for over half her life, listens to a truly eclectic range of musical genres, and holds some strong opinions on music that probably shouldn’t be voiced in polite company.

Interests: Economic inequality, influence of money in modern politics, representation of women in media

Skills: I’ve dabbled in many different areas over the years and have extensive experience using Photoshop for digital art, some experience making pixel art, have played an instrument for 10+ years so I know a thing or two about music, have experience coding with C++ and Python, know HTML/CSS, have participated in National Writing Month several times and have sunk way too many hours into video games.

Andrew Tran

Hi! I’m a fourth year English major who is going to be graduating after this quarter. This class is interesting for me because I have sunk far too many hours of my life into “studying” the art of the videogame. I’ve spent thousands of hours on the likes of Starcraft 2, Dota2, and League of Legends most recently so I enjoy the competitive aspect of online videogames. I’m also interested in the way that more contemporary games have been exploring new methods in order to tell a more focused narrative(such as Telltale Game’s The Walking Dead and more recently 2k Game’s Bioshock Infinite). I used the picture of the Cookie Monster for my picture because it’s been my Steam profile picture forever and most of my usernames online have something to do with cookies.

Interests: I’m interested in issues of economic inequality and subsequent ethical decisions dealing with such matters. I am willing to work on anything though.

Skills: I’ve played a lot of videogames especially PC games so I already have a decent background in understanding mods.

Jason Vego:

I am a third year Communication major with a minor in Applied Psychology and hopefully Business Writing (I find out at the beginning of Fall Quarter 2013). I work for the UCSB Alcohol and Drug Program as a Marketing and Outreach Intern. I also have an internship with a clothing company called Akomplice. I have a passion for clothing and fashion; whether it is for a company I am working for or for the clothes I personally purchase. I also love sports, especially basketball and the Los Angeles Lakers. I enjoy playing videogames but I rarely play them.

Interests: I am interested in racism, sexism, unequal distribution of wealth, gay rights and much more. Most social issues are interesting to me. I easily get fascinated by research and statistics within different social issues.

Skills: I am very good at writing. I have taken 4 classes in the writing department at UCSB, in addition to the several other classes at UCSB that have papers and other writing assignments. I have experience in web design and website writing. I am very creative. I have thought of different logos, campaign ideas and event ideas for my previous and current jobs, internships and organizations.

Jessica Villegas

I am a fourth year Biology major with plans to attend medical school after graduation. I find my classmates��?knowledge of video games a bit daunting, as the extent of my experience comes from playing Super Mario on Game Boy when I was ten. Most of my free time is spent with my newly adopted Australian Shepherd puppy named Finn (pictured above). I also may or may not be one of those people who make Instagram accounts for their pets. When I’m not obsessing over my dog, I can be found watching shocking amounts of television comedies on Netflix, but I have recently given that up and my productivity has increased dramatically.

Interests: I’m primarily interested in issues of social and economic inequality like wealth disparity and classism.

Skills: I like to think I’m a fairly proficient writer. I have some experience with Photoshop.

Laura Vogel

I’m a fourth year Psychology major with a minor in Applied Psychology. I used to steal my neighbor’s PlayStation 2 to play GTA. Okay, not “steal��?but definitely commandeer for days on end. Video games fascinate me and I am interested in what they have to say about the world. I am too cheap/poor to buy my own console so I spend countless hours a day watching YouTube Game Walkthrough’s/Tutorials, which I know makes me really cool. Right now it’s Bioshock Infinite. One day, I plan on taking on the active instead of passive role!

Interests: I am interested in issues such as marriage equality, which is definitely one of my biggest passion seeing as it makes me the most angry when people do not see my point of view that everyone should be allowed to get married! I am also interested in the separation of church and state, and educating the community about rape culture and how to stop it in our society.

Skills: I am a good writer so I can help with the narratives and analyzing of such narratives. I do not play many video games myself, but I do watch Walkthroughs on YouTube and become very engaged with the narratives these games have to tell. I am very familiar with how a video game works.

Will Watson

So first off, I’m probably very different from a good number of people in this class because I’m honestly not a gamer at all. Video games are cool and all, but I definitely am not the kid who’s like all about video games and will pay money to play them. That being said- I am unbeatable at Super Smash Bros Melee. It was the ONLY game that I played for years, so as of now I have not met anyone who I couldn’t beat, but everyone is welcome to test me. I’m a 2nd year double majoring in Chinese/Poly Sci. Other things about me, I’m an Air Force ROTC cadet, I love sports like football, basketball, tennis, racquetball, etc. I’ve also lived in tons of countries around the world.

Skills: I’m a pretty good writer, and some games I pick up fairly quickly. I have a pretty good eye for reviewing/critiquing games.

Hi, I’m a second year Hydrology Major from Santa Cruz. I’ve been playing video games since I was a kid…I love Starcraft and Dota. I’ve never really thought of using video games to try and convey an important message before, but when we talked about it in class it seems to make perfect sense. I’m really excited to learn more about this, as it seems like we’re going to be seeing many more people using games as a medium for their arguments. I also love surfing, fishing and stoopin it with a bag of spitz.

Interests: I am interested in many issues discussed in the class. I feel that environmental, ethical, and racial issues are all something that I could find myself building this project around. However I am open to any ideas and have a few swirling around already.

Skills: I don’t have any specialized skills in this field. I’ve never really done much modding and I have no coding experience. What I can offer is a creative mind and a willingness to put in the work necessary to make a great game.